BYJU'S coding asset in US sold for a pittance
What's the story
BYJU'S, the troubled edtech giant, has sold off two of its American assets - coding platform Tynker and kids' learning platform Epic. The sales were approved by a US bankruptcy court. Computer science education company CodeHS acquired Tynker for just $2.2 million in cash, a far cry from the $200 million BYJU'S had paid in 2021 to acquire it through a cash-and-stock deal.
Asset transfer
Epic sold for $95M
Epic, which BYJU'S had acquired in 2022 for $500 million in a cash-and-stock deal, has now been sold to China's TAL Education Group for $95 million. The sale price is significantly lower than the original acquisition cost. Epic was BYJU'S second-largest purchase after coaching center operator Aakash Institute, which it bought in 2021 for nearly $1 billion.
Legal troubles
Bankruptcy proceedings initiated against BYJU'S
In June 2024, some lenders in a consortium that lent $1.2 billion to BYJU'S said they filed a petition in a US court to initiate bankruptcy proceedings against Epic and Tynker. Later, these lenders sued Byju Raveendran, his wife Divya Gokulnath, and former executive Anita Kishore. The lawsuit claimed the trio executed a scheme to misappropriate $533 million from money lent to BYJU'S Alpha Inc, a financing vehicle set up by the edtech company in the US for loan receipt.
Judicial
BYJU approaches NCLT and NCLAT
A Delaware Bankruptcy Court ruling had earlier indicated that there were multiple fraudulent transfers and thefts. The court also found that suspended director Riju Ravindran had breached his fiduciary duties as a director of BYJU'S Alpha Inc, according to the lenders. In India, both brothers have approached the NCLT and NCLAT seeking a stay on the committee of creditors (CoC) and removal of the resolution professional.